A Second Chance
by SpiralAK
Summary: In the aftermath of Gold Morning, everyone received a second chance, including Contessa. Oneshot.


Contessa stood on a rooftop overlooking Earth Bet's New York City, resting her arms on the railing. Buildings, roads and other structures of varying sizes stretched out as far as she could see, few bearing the scars sustained during Scion's attack and eventual downfall.

The portals that once saturated the landscape in the wake of that fight had dwindled in number, but the city remained a gateway to worlds that were uninhabited and others that weren't, worlds that anyone could theoretically access.

Some had called it a city with depth, for that very reason.

She would say it had both depth _and _breadth. It was a city of nearly limitless possibilities.

The aftermath of Gold Morning had given almost everyone a second chance. Some turned over a new leaf and began a new chapter in their lives, while others retained their old habits, for better or worse.

"It's been a while, Contessa."

She turned around, the movement still somewhat stiff. The voice, like the man, was instantly recognizable. "Legend."

Legend hovered a foot above and away from her, the moonlight shining behind him accentuating the blue and white of his costume. Other than sporting a golden dot within a golden ring on his chest, he hadn't changed one bit.

"How have you been?" Legend asked, arms at his sides with his palms facing away. His body lacked the tension one had when they expected to fight.

She could have asked her power for a way to tell him what he needed to hear without revealing anything important, but she didn't. She didn't have anything to hide anymore. "Better than I expected. And how about you?" It was a courtesy, a gesture one made to be polite, but a part of her was interested in the answer.

Legend smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting upwards. "It's been tough, but things are looking up. No more Endbringers to worry about, no end of the world conspiracies to consider. Everything's been going well." He paused. She was willing to wait for him to continue. "Though sometimes I think it's too good to be true. It's like this is some dream and when I wake up, Eidolon and Alexandria would still be alive and the Wardens would be called the Protectorate, like it was before all of this happened."

"You aren't the only one," Contessa said. "I have to remind myself every day that everything we did didn't end up in vain." She saw the badge Legend was wearing all the time. A reminder that it was all over. "That we won."

She said that, but she barely had anything to do during the fight. It had been Khepri who rallied the few parahumans that Scion hadn't slaughtered, Tattletale who had come up with the plan to break the entity's spirit and Defiant who had delivered the final blow.

All things she had dismissed because for all her power, she couldn't see those paths bringing them to victory.

She was wrong.

"We won. And now we're here." He fell quiet.

A cool breeze whipped through the air, mussing her hair and tickling her face. She brought a hand to brush the strands of hair that had gone astray and tucked them behind her ear. Doing things without help was getting easier.

"Did you ever think it would come to this?" he asked.

Contessa closed her eyes, took a deep breath. When she opened them, she had her answer. "I don't know."

Legend froze. "You don't know?"

She frowned, lips pulled taut. "I don't. I _hate_ not knowing things, not having all the answers." _Feeling like a paralyzed child._

Legend only smiled. "I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that was such an issue for you."

She shrugged, a simple rolling of her shoulders. "I never shared a lot of things with you. Only what was necessary."

"Of course," Legend said. "We all have secrets we want to keep hidden, don't we? But how much was necessary?"

Contessa looked around. They were the only ones on the rooftop. No one was around to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Before? Only the bare minimum to keep you affiliated with Cauldron."

"And now?"

She had a lot of time to think about what she had done, what she could have done. "I would trust others more, for one."

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?"

"I was afraid," she said. "Can you imagine trying to tell someone that the golden man would kill us all out of boredom or existential despair? They'd react badly. Set him off before we were ready to fight. But controlling the revelation, bringing in more people to work for us while keeping Cauldron's true purpose on a need-to-know basis? I thought it was the best course of action.

"But it wasn't. The Doctor and I were so focused on the big picture that after a while, we barely spared a second thought to the steps we had to take to get there."

A few seconds passed before Legend dropped the bombshell. "Was it worth it, in the end, doing all of that?"

Contessa's mouth twisted into an empty smile. "I like to think that someone content with what they've done in life wouldn't lose all respect for themselves. Don't you agree?"

Legend nodded, a small smile on his face. "You have a point."

She leaned backwards, setting her elbows on the railing to keep steady. Her chin was held high, not in defiance or from pride. "I asked someone else in a similar situation the same question you asked me. She said no, that she'd do things differently. Scion wasn't even part of the equation."

Legend raised an eyebrow. "You aren't talking about _her_, are you?"

Even now, Khepri was still a hot topic. Most believed that she was dead, but the few that didn't searched for leads, asked for and fulfilled favours, even leveraged their powers. The core Undersiders were especially irritating, combining all three in their search for their former teammate.

"Khepri is dead," Contessa said.

Taylor Hebert wasn't.

"You aren't hiding anything, are you?"

It would have been far too easy to kill her.

Contessa pursed her lips. "She won't harm anyone ever again."

But she didn't. She gave her a second chance instead. It was up to her to take it.

Legend smiled. "No use in arguing against you. But no matter what I or others may think about her, the impact she made cannot be understated." He moved next to her. "Take a look."

She did. From her vantage point, she could see cars racing down roads and members of the Wardens patrolling the city's streets, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. More parahumans guarded the portals, keeping order and ensuring safe transport.

"They're all working together towards maintaining the peace."

"Exactly." Legend turned to face her and she could see the burning intensity in his eyes. "_This _is what we've been fighting for. Before, our world was dying from constant attacks crushing our morale and dividing us. Now, we can rebuild and work together to create a new status quo."

His features relaxed, giving way to a soft smile. "You can be a part of that."

Contessa considered the offer. "Maybe some other time. I need to take care of the little things before I can go back to looking at the big picture."

"Is Teacher one of those things?"

Contessa shook her head. "Not exactly. I make sure he doesn't overstep his boundaries, keep him in check. Not that hard, since he's being cautious these days."

"That's good to know." He extended a hand. "I never expected you would be so open. It was quite nice, talking to you like this."

Contessa took it, shaking his hand with a firm grip. "It was."

"The offer to join the Wardens still stands, Contessa. Whenever you're ready, give me a call and we'll get you sorted out, alright?"

She nodded, giving him a smile. "Take care, Legend."

"Take care." Once she released his hand, he took off, shooting towards the starry sky.

She looked at the city for a while longer before turning back and walking away. Her mind had wandered, making her remember a certain someone. She had been given a great power and committed atrocity after atrocity for a single purpose. She had been given a second chance and with that, the ability to do anything she desired.

So far, this new path had been full of surprises. Learning how to enjoy the little things in life was an adventure in itself, and she was definitely looking forward to where it would take her next.


End file.
